The Debate: Will Barcelona or Real Madrid enjoy the better season?
Real Madrid survived a scare on Tuesday night but overcame Bayern Munich to book their place in a third successive Champions League final. Now only Liverpool stands in their way of creating further European history.
If Zinedine Zidane’s side defend the Champions League for a third season in a row, could they successfully claim to have enjoyed a better season than Barcelona?
Hypothetically speaking, would Real Madrid’s European triumph trump Barcelona’s league and cup double? This was the topic of intense debate at WhoScorde.com.
Josh Wright – Barcelona
In my opinion, Barcelona’s season has been pretty special. Ernesto Valverde took over a club in disarray last summer. Barcelona unexpectedly lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain and it took until November for Lionel Messi to finally sign a new deal.
There was absolute turmoil off the pitch and Valverde’s appointment did little to inspire confidence it wouldn’t boil over onto it either. However, the 54-year-old deserves immense credit, even though the club’s Champions League exit to Roma was humiliating.
This season was supposed to be the perfect opportunity for Madrid to steal a march on their rivals in the league. They have enjoyed unprecedented success in Europe in recent years, but have only won La Liga twice in the last decade.
However, rather than crumble, Valverde settled quickly and Barcelona have romped to their seventh league title in the same period. The Catalonian side are currently 15 points clear of Madrid and are on course to become the first Spanish side to go through a whole league campaign unbeaten.
Not only that, Barcelona beat Sevilla 5-0 in the Copa del Rey final last month – the biggest winning margin in a Copa final since Madrid beat their own youth side in 1980.
The football hasn’t been as special as previous editions of this Barcelona side, but what they have managed to achieve less than 12 months on from a chaotic summer is nothing short of spectacular and it's for that reason, among others, why they have enjoyed the more successful season, regardless of Real Madrid's possible Champions League success.
Ben McAleer - Real Madrid
Domestically, Real Madrid have been a shambles, that goes without saying. They’re currently 15 points behind title winners and fierce rivals Barcelona and it’s a very real possibility that they’ll end the weekend 18 points behind the Blaugrana. Ernesto Valverde has done a fine job in his debut season at the Camp Nou helm and, after overseeing Copa Del Rey success, a domestic double will undoubtedly have stung Real Madrid. Los Blancos, though, won’t mind one jot this season.
A 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday night confirmed their place in the Champions League final as they seek a third successive European success. They haven’t fluked their way to the final either, navigating a group containing both Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund before swatting the French, Italian and German champions to one side as the Cristiano Ronaldo inspired La Liga machine smashed its way to Kyiv.
Of course, they haven’t been crowned champions of Europe just yet. They need to overcome a Liverpool side that has scored more Champions League goals this season (40) than any other team, but their defensive shortcomings can be ruthlessly exposed by this Real Madrid outfit. Should they overcome the Reds in Ukraine later this month, then Barcelona’s league and cup double will pale in comparison as the capital side seek an unprecedented 13th European triumph.
Two trophies are always better than one of course, but while Barcelona are champions of Spain, Real Madrid would be crowned the best in Europe. Head coach Zinedine Zidane has endured his doubters this season and it’s true, their domestic form has left little to the imagination, but in the Champions League; Real Madrid rule supreme. No matter the outcome of El Clasico on Sunday, if Real Madrid lift the Champions League at the end of May, they’ll have had a more successful campaign.
